On The Lot Reality Show: Vote For My Film!

hey bro, no problem. will endeavour to look at it and spread the word. its always nice to hear of a brother out there, anywhere, who is keeping the green, white, green hoisted high. please keep up the spirit, and then when you're done, u can talk to the producers about reproducing the concepts here in nigeria. we can the arrange some major marketing deals. there is this brand from nigerian breweries, amstel malta, which is focusing on hollywood and producing a film each year with the winner of their reality t.v. show. i think i can swing something because i used to work there and the brand guys are my friends.

so please talk 2 mi soon, okay.

emeka

i know the show itself didn't do too well.

i didn't expect it to, though.

what would be a hit? the show or the movie?

it's possible that the show could be successful if it's sleazy enough and has enough interesting characters and borderline personalities.

but i don't think the movie would be a success at all.

i think that in many ways, making a movie is like making sausages: people may enjoy the final product, but they really don't want to see the process that goes into making it.

to me, there's something about being on a reality show in general that prevents you from being taken seriously in the profession you're supposedly competing to be in. how many of the contestants from "America's Next Top Model" have actually gone on to successful modelling careers, let alone being "top" models? mostly, they end up being "celebrities" who end up appearing on other reality TV shows, or presenters on entertainment shows--but not models.

look at "American Idol": in the past week and a half, THREE past favorites from the show--including two WINNERS--have been dropped from their record labels' rosters because they couldn't sell records! the careers of a lot of the people from AI never even took off to begin with! the fact that people will watch you on TV and fall in love with you on the small screen and vote for you to win a televised competition does not mean that they are ready to actually take you seriously as an "artist."

in fact, there's something about being on such a show that directly works against that: much of the entertainment world is based on fantasy and mystery. when you see a filmmaker or musician or what have you come out of nowhere and present their work, we feel curious about them and the process that lead to the creation of this great work.

on the other hand, when you watched their entire development on a TV show (including all the mess-ups and tears), it takes away from that mystery and even from the achievement. the viewer has less respect for it. it makes you seem less "real," less professional; i think the perception is that if you were "real," you would actually be out there practicing your profession rather than competing on a reality show.

the funniest thing to me is shows like P. Diddy's "Making the Band": it's gotten to the point where he's not even pretending anymore that he's remotely interested in promoting the bands from the show. the point of the show is to provide engaging television entertainment, not to discover the musical superstars of tomorrow. i'm surprised people still go and apply to be on these shows when it's so clear that nobody from these shows ever succeeds in the business. they put out one album, which usually flops and then they are dropped by the label. and those are the ones who are even lucky enough to manage to release an album in the first place!

these shows exist just to exploit people's desperation, i think. it's possible to get some exposure on them and if you're smart enough, you might be able to manipulate that to build bigger things. but it's more likely that you're just setting yourself up to be forever remembered as "that guy from that reality show."

1) is correct

2) is not.

yes, being on a reality show can make you somewhat famous--but it makes you famous for being yourself, which actually works against you as an actor

yes, everybody remembers you as the guy who got drunk and shit his pants on a reality show, but is that going to help you get acting work? no, because everybody remembers you as the guy who got drunk and shit his pants. if they cast you as a cop, the moment you appear on the screen, the audience will laugh loudly "hey, that's the guy who got drunk and shit his pants!" if they cast you as a minister, "hey, that's the guy who got drunk and shit his pants!"

it's really not a useful kind of celebrity--it's the celebrity of has-been TV stars from the 80s like Gary Coleman. sure, everybody knows who Gary Coleman is, but nobody would ever hire him to act in a movie. the most he can do is appear on reality shows. that's the thing about reality shows: they accelerate that process and turn you into an instant has-been for 15 minutes.

even if you actually are talented, being on a reality show works against your talent because the assumption is that if you really were talented, you would have been out there in the trenches actually doing the work instead of being on a show like that. reality shows exploit people who would do anything to be famous (except actually work for it), people with extreme personalities, narcissists and exhibitionists--and  most of the time, every single one of them claims they want to be an actor.

after like 15 years of reality shows and possibly thousands of contestants, i'm having a hard time thinking of a single one who became even a minimally successful actor as a result of being on the show.

Yaya DaCosta from "America's Next Top Model" is slowly coming up these days, i guess. but she's an exception that proves the rule.

which successful musicians?

i mean, i don't know--i know the "Pop Idol" franchise has spread across the globe, so i don't know how its alumni have fared in other countries, but speaking just for America and the UK, i can't think of anybody who sustained a successful career based off of being on a reality show.

yes, some of them might have a successful album immediately after the show because people are still curious, but within a year or two, they're forgotten as the public's attention turns to newer contestants on the reality shows.

and that's the fundamental problem: because the public first encountered you on a TV show, they subconsciously think of you as a TV personality rather than an actor, model, musician or whatever you're trying to be. they care about you as long as you are on TV, and the longer you are away from TV, the faster you fade from memory.

hence, the only solution is to try to stay on TV by apearing more reality shows.

who are these successful models you say have benefited from reality shows?

looking at Tyra Banks' "America's Next Top Model," how many successful models have come from it? most of the winners either faded away fast or became TV presenters and bit players in the occasional D-grade movie.

some of the women (like Yaya DaCosta and Nnenna Agba) have managed to make some headway, but arguably, they did so by playing down and distancing themselves from the fact that they were on a reality show. some of the others have gotten some modelling work, but a lot of times it's in "men's magazines" (ie softcore porn) like Maxim, Stuff, King, Smooth and Playboy. i guess you can call that "modelling" but it's not the same as being in VOGUE or ELLE, is it?

and there have been reality shows about actors, by the way: one that instantly comes to mind is The Starlet http://www.realitytvworld.com/thestarlet/

and of course, not a single person from it was ever seen again.

also, acting may not be a solo act, but neither is being a musician: you can be the best singer in the world, but if you don't have the right songs, the right producers and (most importantly) the right record label putting the right money into promoting you, you're going nowhere fast!

anyway, you know me: i'm full of theories and unique personal readings of popular culture. but the easiest way to prove that i am wrong is to produce a list of all the people who have been successful (for more than 15 minutes) in their chosen profession as a result of appearing on reality shows.

just list 'em and obviously my point will be debunked.